QUICK HOMEMADE RICOTTA + A LEMONY GARDEN PASTA

I hear the old lock click as the gate to our backyard squeaks open. Footsteps cross the gravel. The garage door springs open wide as Otis tucks his bike away for the afternoon. Backpack strapped on, my thirteen year old marches through the back door chittering and chattering about his life. I especially love it when the first words from his mouth spill out stories about what they cooked in Kitchen that day.

Otis's after-school tales seem to begin mid sentence, as if he is simply continuing our conversation left dangling that morning. It usually takes me a minute of two before I get the gist of what he's telling me, "...food science...heat and acid...so easy..." When I finally realize that Otis and his classmates had made ricotta that day and that he wanted to make it with me, "Of course, I'd love to!" I answer and we make ricotta right then and there.

Otis and I first made ricotta together a month or so ago and he was right - it is ridiculously easy to make and totally empowering for any do-it-yourselfer. Have you made your own ricotta? I'm guessing a lot of you have, but for those of you who haven't...you must give it a go!

QUICK RICOTTA inspired by the Edible Schoolyard
printable recipe

• 2 cups whole milk
• generous pinch of sea salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pour milk into a non-reactive saucepan. Add a pinch of sea salt. Bring milk to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scalding. When the milk comes to a boil, remove the pan from the heat, add the lemon juice, and stir very gently until curdles begin to separate (this should take less than a minute). Let the milk mixture sit in the pan for 5 minutes.

Finally, pour your milky mixture (curds and whey) through a cheesecloth stretched over the top of a bowl. Discard the excess liquid. (Save the liquid (whey) to use in your next batch of porridge, smoothie, biscuits, pancakes, etc... or if you're like my friend Margi, you can take a bath in the stuff;))

You can serve the ricotta immediately or let it continue to strain for up to an hour depending on how dry you like your ricotta.

That's it. Ricotta done!

There are all sort of wonderful resources for making ricotta.  If you want to read more, check here, here and here...

...........................................

LEMONY GARDEN PASTA WITH FRESH RICOTTA
printable recipe

We were in Bolinas staying at my mom's over the long weekend and Otis and I made another batch of ricotta yesterday morning. I decided to make an early lunch putting our fresh cheese to good use. Mom had broccoli sprouting in her garden, lemons finally ripening on her tree, and we had ricotta.... a bright, lemony veggie pasta seemed the thing.

• 6 loosely packed cups broccoli florets (I think asparagus could be wonderful in this pasta in the spring time)
• 1/3 cup good olive oil + a drizzle for serving
• sea salt
• 1 package dry pasta of your choice {GF folks: I used Bionaturae spaghetti}
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• handful toasted pine nuts
• ground black pepper
• red pepper flakes 
• fresh ricotta (see recipe above)
• optional: broccoli blossoms

Heat pasta water in a large stockpot. Add plenty of salt until it tastes like sea water.

Blanch your broccoli florets in the hot pasta water. Use a slotted spoon to remove the vibrant, tender veg and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Toss broccoli with 1/3 cup olive oil and salt generously to taste. Set aside.

Return the water to a boil and cook the pasta until tender. While pasta is cooking, zest and juice lemons and set aside.

Add pasta to the broccoli florets, toss and immediately add pine nuts, lemon zest and juice to the mix. Season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. If you think it needs it, add a little more lemon juice. Give the whole thing a sprinkling of red pepper flakes, if you like a little spice. Finally scatter fresh ricotta onto the pasta and give the whole dish another drizzling of olive oil. Add a few broccoli blossoms if you've got them.

Serve pasta warm or at room temp.

Feeds 4.

TOASTED PISTACHIO PESTO

My belly is still recovering from overindulging in a delicious Thanksgiving feast. How about yours?  Every year I am shocked to be hungry in the days after Thanksgiving. But here I am, back in the kitchen, ready for more.

Speaking of thanks, topping my list of things to be thankful for this year (and the list is long!) is...  my mom is healthy and cancer-free after a very scary couple of months.  I continue to be awed by her strength, attitude, grace, and resilience. When I brought her home after her second surgery last month, I told her I'd cook anything she craved. She wanted pesto. The sweet, funky, grocery store in her little town doesn't always stock pine nuts, but they did have some really good, roasted, organic pistachios from a farm nearby. I was inspired. I whipped up some chunky, rustic, and super flavorful pesto for my hungry mom. I was sure to pack in an extra dose of love in this meal knowing how essential every bite is to her healing process. She wolfed down her bowl of pistachio pesto pasta and continued to crave and eat bowls of pesto pasta for days. I was so honored to feed my mom.

I've been playing around with this recipe ever since. I tried adding some lemon zest and that didn't work. I substituted parsley for basil - success. I thought sweet and nutty Piave would be a great partner to the standard Parmesan and it was. I also ended up loving the addition of whole pistachios, leaves of parsley, and extra grated cheese to be scattered over the platted pesto pasta - the varied texture of the deconstructed pesto elements gives this classic a refreshing new life.

Like pretty much all of the recipes I share with you, this one is only as good as its ingredients. The pistachios need to be flavorful, the parsley fresh and perky, and the cheese delicious. I hope this recipe nourishes you as it did my mom.


INGREDIENTS (printable recipe)

• pasta of your liking
• 3/4 cup pistachios, roasted (or if raw follow my roasting suggestions below)
• 2 cups loosely packed Italian parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup finely grated Piave (if you cannot find Piave, you can just use Parmesan)
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan (plus some extra for the table)
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped
• 1/2-3/4 cup olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Heat a large pot of pasta water while you make the pesto.

If you are using raw pistachios, do the following.... Heat a skillet over medium heat on the stove top. Toss in the raw pistachios and give them a shake occasionally to ensure even browning. It should take about 5-7 minutes to toast the pistachios this way. Set pistachios aside to cool to room temp before using.  They will firm up a bit as they cool to room temp.

For garnish later, set aside 1/4 cup roasted whole pistachios, 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, 1/4 cup mixed grated cheeses.

Get out your blender. Place remaining pistachios in the blender and pulse until the nuts are very coarsely chopped. (I think this coarse texture really makes the dish). Add remaining parsley leaves and pulse again a few times to blend. Add just enough olive oil to make the mixture move - about 1/2 cup. Add garlic, remaining cheese, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Barely blend in order to preserve that coarse texture. Taste to see if you'd like additional salt or pepper. Add if needed.

Cook your pasta.

Scoop pesto onto piles of warm pasta. Scatter a few whole pistachios and parsley leaves over each plate. Pass the grated cheese, salt, pepper grinder, and even a little dish with extra pesto.

Enjoy!

ZUCCHINI RIBBON PASTA

Okay,  this isn't really "pasta." Can you forgive me?

A couple of years ago the idea of making pasta out of shaved zucchini was buzzing around the food world (like the food section of the New York Times.) This was about the time doctors told me to get gluten out of our kitchen. So, any pasta that didn't involve wheat called my name. Since then, grated zucchini - usually sauteed, and topped with pesto - has gone into steady rotation at our house.

For you, I wanted to refine this simple idea a bit, give it a little flare, and here we are...

This recipe is delicious on its own, or works as side dish for grilled fish or chicken. If you want to turn the zucchini ribbons into a more substantial vegetarian meal, serve on a bed quinoa with a little additional lemon juice/olive oil vinaigrette.

GOLDEN BAY MUSSELS

We like mussels at our house.... a budget-conscious and delicious buy from Monterey Fish. Plus the quick prep makes for an easy dinner. At home in California, foraging for Mussels is a no-no. Quarantine signs warn of contamination and unhealthy waters.

For the first time in my life, we got to harvest our own mussels off the shore! We were recently in Golden Bay, New Zealand - tucked into the lightly populated shores on the gorgeous South Island, the waters are clean and harvesting seafood from the beaches is just fine.

We heard that the tides were low at ten am, so off we set with a few buckets in hand. Within 15 minutes we had plenty of mussels to cook up.

In trying to keep our meal as simple and local as possible, we threw together an easy spaghetti with mussels. We borrowed a few spices from our neighbor, harvested some herbs from the garden there, then walked to the nearby market and bought some New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, local onions, butter, olive oil, sea salt, and pasta.

Penne with Creamy Vodka Tomato Sauce

parsley blossoms

As you have probably noticed, I am a huge fan of Patricia Wells and her recipes. I am still dreaming of her cherry almond tart that I baked a few weeks ago.

When P and I first lived together in an adorable garden cottage in Kensington, we cooked from Trattoria more than any other source. With Wells' recipes, we christened our newly acquired domestic tools: knives, dishes, and pots and pans. Penne with Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce became a staple item - it is easy to make and comforting to eat. Wells can make even a novice cook feel like a pro.

My mom's Bolinas garden is lush with edibles these days. Her green thumb helps produce veggies that are vigorous and delicious. She sent me home with bounty from her first garlic harvest. The cloves went right into this pasta dish. And I harvested just enough parsley in our own garden to use. The rest has beautifully gone to seed. I ended up throwing some parsley blossoms on top of the leftover pasta and they were wonderfully peppery. If your own parsley has gone to seed, give the blossoms a try.

Note: I've found that this dish can be made ahead of time and reheated covered for about 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I think I even prefer the baked version to the freshly made dish. Yum!


INGREDIENTS
adapted from Patricia Wells' Trattoria Cookbook

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, diced 
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• sea salt
• tomato puree ( 28 oz)
• 1 pound dried Penne ( GF folks I am a huge fan of BioNatura Pastas)
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons vodka
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves cut with scissors

Set a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Salt water until it tastes like the sea.

Place garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and a generous pinch of salt in an unheated large saute pan. Turn heat to medium and cook for a few minutes until garlic is golden but not at all crispy. Stir in tomato puree. Simmer for about 15 minutes and sauce has thickened.

In the meantime cook Penne.

Add cooked pasta to the now thickened sauce in the large saute pan. Stir pasta to coat with sauce. Add Vodka and stir again. Add Cream and stir again. Cover pan and turn heat down to low. Let sit for a couple of minutes before serving. Season again with salt to taste.

Serve topped with fresh chopped parsley and/or parsley flowers.

Serves 4-6

Fava Bean Ragu

I never worked at Chez Panisse, but I have quite a few friends who have. All those with kitchen internships describe their time at Chez Panisse as a time shucking favas.

Preparing favas, first shucking, then peeling the skins, is time-consuming - though, if you have company, doing this task becomes social and festive. Plus, I do love the tactile experience of freeing the slippery bright green beans first from their beautifully fleecy pods and then from their rubbery shells.

Our neighbors, Rich and Caitlin, gave us these beauties grown in their garden next door. We combined this local loot with our haul from Riverdog Farm and a fava party we did have! Tossing this ragu over pasta with some shaved Piave and lots of fresh ground pepper made a rich and luscious dinner on its own. My friend Phyllis at Dash and Bella introduced me to Piave, which tastes like a sweet young Parmesan. Phyllis shaves Piave into a delectable Fennel and Asparagus Salad. If you can get your hands on some of this cheese, it is a great match with the favas, otherwise Parmesan, Pecorino, or even a fresh ricotta are good substitutes.



INGREDIENTS
adapted from Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Vegetables

• 3-4 pounds Fresh Fava Beans in their pods
• 1 sprig rosemary, leaves finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• olive oil (about a 1/2 cup)
• salt 
• pepper
• 1 lemon
• Optional: pasta 
• Optional: Piave, Pecorino, or Parmesan

To prep the favas, set and pot of water on the stove to boil while you (and a friend or two) remove the pale green beans from their pods.  Then parboil the beans in simmering water for 1 minute. Remove beans and set aside to cool. When the beans have reached a manageable temperature, peel off the rubbery pale green skins and you will have bright green favas inside. (Using your fingers, pinch an opening at one end of the skin and then squeeze the favas out.) Before you know it you will find your own rhythm in this process.

Place the naked favas in a saute pan with an equal mixture of water and olive oil so the beans are just covered. Add the rosemary and garlic, then season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover, continue stewing for about 5 minutes or until the favas should be tender. Squeeze a half lemon into the ragu and salt again to taste.

We served the favas over fettuccine with shaved Piave and tons of fresh ground pepper.

Serves 4


Note: If you have leftover Fava Bean Ragu, serve it as part of an antipasto platter with Burrata, and prosciutto.

Chanterelle Hunting

I LOVE Chanterelles. For years I have been hoping someone would let me tag along on a mushroom foraging expedition. One of P's students, who grew up mushroom hunting with his family, invited us to join him in the woods last weekend. We geared up with rubber boots, rain coats, and empty baskets.

I know the tales of people being poisoned by wild mushroom that look innocently like their tasty brethren, but Chanterelles are another story. Their fluted stalks and ribbed underbellies are unique. When we saw a Chanterelle, we knew it.

And we found many - pounds and pounds! So many that we had enough for two indulgent suppers and even a surplus that we shared with neighbors.







CHANTERELLE PASTA
inspired by Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Vegetables

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1-2 pounds Chanterelles
• leaves from 4-5 sprigs thyme
  
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  
• 1 leek
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• salt and pepper
• 1 pound pasta (GF folks, I love the Bionaturae pastas)
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
  

Parsley and thyme from our backyard garden...



Heat pasta water.

Gently warm cream and chicken stock in a saucepan.

Clean and chop leek. Saute leek with 1 tablespoon butter. When leek is translucent, set aside.

Clean, then chop or tear Chanterelles into nice sized pieces. Heat large saute pan with 4 tablespoons butter. Add mushroom to pan and cook vigorously. Season generously with salt, pepper, and chopped thyme leaves. Add garlic for last minute of cooking. When done, mushroom should be tender, but not mushy.

Cook pasta.

When mushrooms are done, add cream/stock and leeks to the mushroom pan. Gently simmer sauce to thicken while the pasta is cooking.

When pasta is cooked, add to the Chanterelle pan and stir to coat well. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Top each serving with freshly grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.

Man oh man that was good!

Fresh Tomato and Gorgonzola Pasta

This dish couldn't be easier....

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta of your choice ( I used Tinkyada GF spaghetti)
8 medium tomatoes, chopped ( I used the irresistible dry-farmed Early Girls)
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 cup crumbled gorgonzola
plenty of fresh ground pepper
salt to taste

Once your pasta is cooked, add all ingredients and the gorgonzola will melt and and the tomatoes will soften. This is so tasty eaten at room temp!